1957(ish)!

Well, thanks to the vagaries of Dutch winter weather (not cold at the moment but windy rainy and generally rather glum) it took me a while to get pictures of this outfit. On the other hand, I was lucky that E has taken this week off work and didn't mind being forced into the role of photographer on Tuesday morning. 

This is my 1957 outfit, made using a tutorial for the skirt and belt from the issue nr. 4 of Libelle magazine from 1957.

The whole look is based on this picture, from the mailorder pattern section from nr. 5 from the same year. I tried to get a picture in a similar pose but that proved really difficult. I didn't have anything with the right height to lean on so it felt really awkward. Looking at the my attempts when sorting the pictures for this post just made me feel scruffy and waistless... 

To complete the look, I obviously needed a blouse pattern. One from the same year would have been ideal but my collection didn't provide one. 

This little number (on the right), however, is from sewing magazine Marion from 1955. From the March issue. It shares a lot of the characteristics of the blouse in the picture: kimono sleeves (at least at the front. The Marion blouse has set-in back sleeves), no button band and less-than-full-length sleeves with turn-back cuffs. I chose not to mind about the fact that it has tucks at the waist instead of darts but of course, I did feel the need to alter the collar. I kept the original neckline and button positions (those three are the only buttons at the front of this blouse. Obviously it was meant to be only ever worn tucked into a high waistband) and drafted a very simple convertible collar to use instead of the stander and mini-size rounded collar the pattern came with. 

Skirt and belt were made following the tutorial but adapted to my waist size and didn't really cause any surprises (and I've made my own, more detailed, tutorial for this belt in the previous post). It was a bit of a shame the instructions didn't bother with enforcing a particular skirt length. That would have been interesting. On the other hand, I've read enough 1950's (and 1940's and probably from earlier times as well) fashion news to know that a truly stylish lady defines her skirt length by the distance from the hem to the ground. Measured while wearing the appropriate shoes for that outfit, of course. 

I was pleasantly surprised with the blouse. I've tried Marion patterns twice before and both of those times, I was rather underwhelmed with the result (a dress and a coat which didn't get beyond the muslin stage). I guess this teaches me not to go for the size 36. That may be very close to my bust measurement, it's considered to be a 'transitional' size, a point between the sizes for girls and women and apparently, that means a seriously shorter back waist length. Part of the difference will also be down to rather simple matters: for a blouse like this, the fit has to be right through the shoulders and bust, the rest doesn't matter as much. For the coat, it was mostly the lack of shaping at the waist and flare of the skirt that disappointed me. Oh, and in this case, the picture from the magazine was definitely not what drew me to this pattern.   

For the purpose of the Vintage Pattern Pledge, I'm counting this outfit as two patterns, because it is. 

The Dior belt

I hope you're going to like this. My earlier post about this outfit didn't inspire any enthusiasm but on the other hand, tutorials tend to be popular...

Just imagine this: The year is 1957, the month February. Of course, you've seen the new designer fashion in magazines since the start of winter and of course, there was a new line by Christian Dior (which would be his second to last because he died in October of that year, but there was no way to know that in February). And then as now, such reports in ladies' magazines are purely 'aspirational'. There's just no way a normal woman could afford such exquisite garments. But it's nice to see the direction in which fashion is going (the influence of Paris on everyday fashion was much stronger back then) and maybe to take some inspiration for your own sewing.
By February, it will be clear which elements of designer fashion have crossed over to a larger audience and the 'Dior belt' is a clear winner.

It's a wide gathered belt most often seen worn over full pleated or gathered skirts (the belt in this picture is actually not a Dior belt, it's a regular smooth one). But, contrasting or matching, it can be paired with other clothing as well.

The trend has been eagerly taken up by the RTW industry and everyone, who can pull off the look, seems to be getting in on it. And now, thanks to your friendly weekly, so can you. And now in December 2014, thanks to this vintage-loving blogger, so can you.

In fact, this description (my how-to here is based on the one in the magazine but that one is so vague I've changed it quite a bit to allow you to actually follow it. Which is also why I don't feel like I'm breaking their copyright) is the earliest designer rip off pattern I've ever seen. Some magazines occasionally bought couture designs and offered those to their readers as patterns but this is different. This didn't come down that official route.

For the belt, you need about 90 by 90 cm of fabric, 3 or 4 pieces of boning of 8 cm long (the poly stuff is fine for this, in fact, better than something you can't stitch through. Just don't forget to meld the ends they can't unravel or prick through the fabric) and 4 hooks and and eyes.

Fold your fabric diagonally. You have to draw the belt along the fold, so it will be on the bias. For the width, measure 27 cm from the fold, the length should be the same as your waist length (do not add seam allowance to these measurements. Fabric stretches on the bias and this belt needs to be a bit snug to look good).

Cut out the rectangle and sew it together along the open sides using a small stitch (so the stitching won't break when the fabric stretches out). Leave a small hole to turn the whole thing. I made mine at one of the sides so the stability of the belt edge is not compromised by hand stitching. Turn the belt right side out and press.
Now, you have to decide whether you want your belt to close at the side or at the back (the closure on a Dior belt should be hidden so it is never at the front). Mine is at the side and I think it is easier to open and close that way. 

For a side closure you will need to gather and insert boning at three places: Both ends and the middle. At each of these places, machine baste two vertical lines, far enough apart to accommodate your boning. At the bottom of each of those lines, unpick a few stitches of the seam you made before. Insert the pieces of boning and gather the fabric on them. Fix in place by sewing over the gathers and the piece of boning. To stabilize everything and close the little holes, I then stitched around the pieces of boning, over the lines of basting and the top and bottom of the boning channel. 
Then, sew the hooks and eyes to the ends of the belt.

The belt is supposed to be worn from the waist up and because of that, I prefer to wear it with the seam on the bottom because that edge will stretch less.

I hope can follow this and I'll show you my version this weekend, when I've had a chance to take pictures.

Buckle up

It's been a while since I shared any vintage finds here...
Well, here's one.
This week, the second-hand stall at my local market had put some belts in the "50 cents an item" bin. I like wearing belts with my 50's style dresses so of course, I had to have a look.

Unfortunately, none of these look great in lamplight but the flash version was even worse.
I picked the first two, the red one with the grommets and the gold-and-silver braid, because they are OK and because they looked short enough to work as waist-belts for me (most stores still seem to be focussing on belts for low-waist jeans). I guess that means they're either at least twenty years old or were made for children...
And then I found the blue one. Vintage looking, ever-so-slightly kitsch and oddly amazing. One of the geese had come off, but it was obvious to me that I would be able to put it back on (which I already did before taking the picture).
The belt itself has a grossgrain back and the front is made up from two kinds of decorative rope. The geese might be brass and are painted. The paint has rubbed off a bit.

I don't have any dresses in that colour blue at the moment, but I may have a fabric:

This grey and blue check/houndstooth flannel is something I bought at the end of last winter. It was just waiting for the change of the seasons and is sort of earmarked for a 1949 style shirtdress with a straight skirt and a drape/flounce detail... Which may just go very well with the over-the-top geese belt, don't you think?

Little things

Not all sewing is about the great or the glamorous. I will admit, a lot of my projects make it to reality just because I think they're 'fun' but of course there has to be a fair amount of simple, useful stuff as well. Case in point?
I could use a simple not-black t-shirt-y top.

And I made it. For the pattern, I 'cloned' a top I already owned, which was in its turn refashioned from a much larger top I had been given (I had kept the neckline and shoulders and just taken in the side seams. Because front and back are the same, tracing it was ridiculously easy). For this version, I bound the neckline with wide strips of the same fabric which I sewed to points for center front and back first and then serged on. 
It's a bright colour for me, but I think it will work.


In other small sewing news, I decided to turn my attention to belts. I seem to have collected quite a few garments which look best when worn with a belt, but I only ever wear one. A black elastic belt which I bought from H&M two years ago. Of course, I know 1950's style dresses should be worn with fairly skinny self-fabric belts but on me, I like the look of a wider, contrasting belt better. And of course, I know one can make belts. I have at least 10 buckles in my stash, including a fancy cover-your-own one. Oh, and I've have two meters of coloured elastic velvet ribbon in my stash for about a year.

This weekend, I finally put some of those supplies to use. Grey velvet elastic ribbon with a huge brass buckle (I once bought a very ugly old belt at the second hand market stall for 0.50 euro to get this thing) and red velvet elastic ribbon with black leather straps (cut from thick leather) and a little buckle (also from an old belt, I think this buckle came from a belt my grandmother gave me). 

And this is how they could be worn (sorry about the dark pictures, the weather didn't cooperate).